Quentin and his companions looked over and saw a patch of white light shimmering by the pool.
The white light swayed gently under the touch of the eerie wind.
Delicate roots were covered with tiny, whisker-like stems and leaves, emitting a soft white glow. This was the White Dragon Beard.
Quentin and the others were thrilled; their hard work had finally paid off.
They quickly approached the patch of White Dragon Beard growing by the pool’s edge.
Cerys knelt down and touched the water, finding it icy cold and refreshing.
“Let’s start gathering these White Dragon Beards now.”
“Be careful when picking them. Uproot them completely without damaging them,” Quentin reminded.
Everyone began to carefully pick the White Dragon Beard, placing each plant into pre-prepared bags.
Even inside the bags, the White Dragon Beard continued to glow, like black lanterns emitting light.
Cerys swiftly picked the White Dragon Beard by the poolside, demonstrating her expertise with medicinal herbs.
Ripples spread across the pool as a venomous snake approached Cerys unnoticed.
The snake moved slowly underwater while everyone was busy picking the White Dragon Beard, oblivious to its presence.
As it neared Cerys’s feet, it flicked its tongue, eyes gleaming with a sinister light. It opened its mouth slightly, revealing needle-like fangs, greedily eyeing Cerys’s exposed ankle.
Suddenly, Cerys let out a scream, and everyone rushed to her side.
She clutched her right ankle, with a trickle of black blood seeping through her fingers.
“Sister!” Harry exclaimed, worried.
The startled snake quickly darted back into the pool as more people approached.
Quentin reacted swiftly, plunging his hand into the water and grabbing the snake by its tail, pulling it out forcefully.
The snake was over a meter long, slender with red and purple cross-patterned scales.
It thrashed and struggled in Quentin’s grip, baring its fangs menacingly as it lunged at him.
Quentin’s expression remained icy as he swiftly grabbed the snake’s head with his other hand and crushed it with inner strength.
Once the snake was dead, Quentin tossed it aside and knelt beside Cerys to check her injury.
He moved her hand away to reveal two small puncture wounds on her ankle, oozing black blood.
“It’s highly venomous. Cerys, do you know what kind of snake this is?”
“Can your mother’s antidote counteract this venom?” Quentin asked worriedly.
“Quentin, I’ll be fine.”
“I’ve never seen this type of snake before. My mother’s antidotes are for common venomous snakes and insects.”
“These antidotes probably won’t work on this venom.”
Cerys’s lips were pale, her voice weak and frail.
“We need to get you back quickly. I’ll try to extract as much venom as possible first. Bear with the pain.”
Quentin tore a piece of cloth from his clothing and handed it to Cerys to bite on.
Cerys nodded, unsure of what Quentin was about to do but trusting him nonetheless. She bit down on the cloth.
Quentin cleaned her wound with water, then heated a knife over a torch for sterilization before making a small cross-cut on her wound.
Black blood flowed from the cut. The pain made Cerys bite down hard on the cloth, her face contorted in agony, sweat pouring down as she gripped the ground tightly.
Eileen and Harry watched anxiously from the side.
Quentin lifted her pale leg and sucked on the wound to draw out the venom.
Seeing Quentin’s actions made Cerys blush with embarrassment. She had never been this close to a man before, especially not someone she liked. It was mortifying!
After a while, Quentin had extracted most of the venom. He spat out the poison and cleaned her wound again before bandaging it with gauze.
He then helped her up and used his inner strength to expel any remaining venom from his own body.
“Thank you, Quentin.” Cerys lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze, her pale face tinged with a shy blush.
“The venom isn’t completely out yet. We need to get back quickly to prevent it from spreading,” Quentin said as he hoisted Cerys onto his back.
“Ah! Quentin…” Cerys blushed even more as she was suddenly carried.
“What’s wrong, Cerys?” Quentin asked, puzzled.
“N-nothing… But we haven’t finished picking the White Dragon Beard…”
Cerys stammered shyly. She felt embarrassed being carried by Quentin but didn’t want him to put her down either. She was conflicted.
“We have enough. Let’s go,” Quentin said as he started walking away.
Before leaving, he instructed Eileen to bring along the dead snake so they could see if Aimee could make an antidote from it.
Cerys nodded shyly, feeling unprecedented warmth on Quentin’s strong back. She was both embarrassed and delighted.
If only she could stay on Quentin’s back forever.
The group hurried down the mountain towards White Miao Village.
They encountered a few venomous insects along the way but quickly dealt with them.
Once they reached the foot of the mountain and crossed the river, the sky outside remained clear and bright.
Back in White Miao Village, villagers noticed Quentin carrying Cerys and followed curiously. Cerys covered her face in embarrassment.
They finally reached Cerys’s home where Henry and Aimee greeted them joyfully but quickly grew concerned seeing Cerys injured.
Quentin placed Cerys on a wooden chair. She was still pale with purple lips and weak from the venom.
“Quentin, what happened? What’s wrong with Cerys?” Aimee asked anxiously.
“Aimee, there’s no time to explain. Do you recognize this snake?”
Eileen took out the snake that had bitten Cerys from her bag.
Aimee examined it closely and gasped in shock. “Purple Spotted Krait!?”